Simulation in online education

Simulations are described as “the most cutting-edge e-learning technique” (Lipschutz, 2004). They offer a radical departure from the highly criticized page-turns, drill-and-practice programs, and workbooks online. Simulation-based programs promise to engage learners by making them active participants in real-world problem solving and allowing them to engage in role plays, providing a safe environment for exploration. These promises have captured the attention of the instructional designers and their clients. Simulations must be evaluated in the context of the problem- based design. Simulations are not a silver bullet, but they should be an important part of your portfolio.

Simulations include attitudinal simulations; case studies; games; symbolic (invisible) simulations; physical simulations; role plays; procedural simulations; software simulation; and virtual reality. These strategies are grouped together because they require active participation in order for learners to gain news skills and knowledge. The active and hands-on nature of these strategies results in understanding based on experience.

What Is Simulation?

Simulations are models or representations of devices, equipment, principles, processes, and situations that enable learners to experience and learn about these things in a safe and supported environment. Online learning simulations are models of real systems that enable learners to conduct experiments for the purpose either of understanding the behavior of systems or for evaluating various strategies. The degree to which simulations model or represent real-world phenomena, physical objects, and interpersonal events varies greatly. Budget, time, and technology also dictate the scope of simulations. Using technology-based simulations, learners have the opportunity to experiment and to try a variety of strategies in ways that are often not practical or financially feasible in traditional classroom-based simulations.

Why Use Simulation?

The question “Why use simulation?” is worth considering. As Billhardt (2004), writing for Chief Learning Officer magazine, points out, simulations have not gained widespread adoption in corporate training. He cites “the largest roadblock to widespread adoption of online simulations as uncertainty over how to develop, use, and incorporate simulations successfully into exiting training environments.”

Simulation strategies are essential problem-based design tools when you must gain attention, create a reflective opportunity, provide authentic practice, or teach software applications.

Consider simulations when you must develop training on a topic that is “old news,” such as time management or corporate policies. Simulations can also breathe new life into subjects that are theoretical or complex. Consider simulations for teach- ing topics such as cardiovascular health or stock market concepts. Involving the learner in a story or asking him or her to play a role gains attention. Think about simulations when it is not enough to simply know the right answer. Instructional designers asked to deliver programs for teaching high-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation should consider simulations. Simulations can provide an opportunity for reflection or a chance for learners to consider how they arrived at an answer, why the answer is right/wrong, and the outcomes of alternative answers. In many e-learning programs, learners read and respond to multiple-choice questions and rarely reflect on their answers. Simulations can be an excellent strategy to encourage reflective thinking by allowing learners to try alternative choices and observe the outcomes of their decisions. In physical simulations such as Control the Nuclear Power Plan, learners can experiment in a safe environment with a model of a nuclear reactor, and in a role play such as The Doctor’s Dilemma, learners can reflect on ethical issues with no clear right or wrong answers.

Simulations can also enable instructional designers to create authentic practice. Consider the authentic practice that firefighters get from interFIRE VR or the kind of realistic patient assessment skills medical professionals develop using case studies such as the KUMC Burn Patient. Simulations with authentic practice not only engage the learner, but they may improve the skills transfer from learning to practice. As Brenda Sugrue (2003a) argues, “The active ingredient in simulations is authentic practice with feedback to correct errors. Authentic practice can be expensive and time-consuming to produce. Good practice mimics the decision-making process, the problem-solving steps, and the application of skill and knowledge involved in the real task. Corrective feedback is equally challenging to develop. Feedback should do more than ask the learner to ‘try again’ or tell her the correct answer. Corrective feedback should explain why the response is wrong and why the alternative answer is right.” Think about simulations when you are asked to develop software application training. Simulations offer instructional designers a range of options from full immersion strategies of NETg and SmartForce to narrated simulations.

As you build your portfolio of problem-centered design strategies, consider simulations when you want to gain attention, create a reflective opportunity, provide authentic practice, and teach software applications.